When a person is unable to eat normally, it is necessary to provide other ways to provide nutrition. One treatment, among medical professionals is via enteral feeding tubes. A variety of different approaches have been developed. A few examples include percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), Gastrostomy tubes (G-Tube), and nasogastric tubes (NG-Tube). Many of these methods start out or end up in different places in the patient's digestive tract; however almost all of them are compatible to attach to catheter tipped syringes or equivalents, which deliver the food supply.
A variety of different methods have been developed to deliver food to these tubes. These methods are generally grouped into two groups: Gravity feeding and Mechanical pump. Another method is commonly called a Murphy drip. In this method, a mechanical pump is used to deliver fluid food to an open, vented container, which is typically a 50 cc syringe. The fluid then flows by gravity at a controlled rate into the stomach.
A variety of methods are used to deliver food to a feeding tube via gravity. One method is to use the barrel of a catheter tipped 50 cc syringe. The tip of the syringe barrel is connected to the feeding tube and food is poured into the opening that would normally fit the plunger. In the prior art, a syringe barrel has been connected to a fixture by elastic bands such that fluid nutrient delivered to the barrel is allowed to flow via gravity from the syringe barrel into a feeding tube connected to the barrel.
This method has several problems. For example, it is prone to spilling, overflows and blockages. These same troubles exist if the syringe is fed from a mechanical pump in the Murphy drip configuration.
Another method is to use a hanging bag, which is either filled or pre-filled with food. The bag is not prone to spilling or overflows; however, this method has its own problems. For example, the bags are cumbersome to hold; they usually require an I.V. pole or other hanging apparatus for their use. They are also difficult to clean well, and usually they are only used once or for just a few feedings before being discarded. The bags tend to be expensive over time.
There is therefore a need for an improved method and apparatus to dispense food via gravity to a feeding tube, which is not prone to spilling, blockages or overflows, yet is convenient to use and cost effective. There is also a need for an apparatus, which is aesthetic and not awkward especially when a person is being fed in public.